Search results for: natural language interfaces

Authors: Prabir Mukhopadhyay, Atul Kohale

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Going to school for Indian kids is a panic situation. Many of them are unable to adjust themselves to the confinement of the school building and this problem is compounded by other factors like unknown people in the vicinity, absence of either parents etc. This project aims at addressing these issues by exposing the kids at home to the learning environment. The purpose is to design a physical model with interfaces at each surface. The model would be like a cube with interactive surfaces where the child would be able to draw, paint, complete a picture and do such fun activities.

Keywords: interface, kids, play, computer systems engineering

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Authors: Umar Bello

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Literature has become an invaluable subject which has added a great value and contribution to the teaching of English language and the discovery of many other developed ideas. Literature produces an exhilarating impulse that imprints a lasting picture on the mind of a learner. Many researchers have devised various means and approaches to language Teaching methods which remain unconvinging and which yield little result, but it has remained unconvincing because it has only produced little results. Devicing a method that eliminates monotony and boredome to learners is a good factor that enhances students’ motivation to learning. In this sense, literature and language become unavoidable components that aid intellectual development. This study examines the indispensability of literature as a means of English Language teaching to secondary school classes. The researcher has developed many instructive activities which are believed will help students to improve their study in grammar and vocabulary. The researcher has used quasi-experimental approach using experimental group and control group to find out how literature enhances the students grammar as well as their vocabulary. The findings revealed a positive performance in the experimental group doing better than the control group using simple percentage. The results make it clear that literature allows learners to pay more attention and develop more interest to their studies. In giving a perspicacious linguistic development, literature therefore remains an essential tool for language teaching classrooms, thereby enhancing their grammatical and vocabulary usage.

Keywords: teaching vocabulary, integration, poetry, classroom

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Authors: Chanchai Supaartagorn

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Structured Query Language (SQL) is the standard de facto language to access and manipulate data in a relational database. Although SQL is a language that is simple and powerful, most novice users will have trouble with SQL syntax. Thus, we are presenting SQL generator tool which is capable of translating actions and displaying SQL commands and data sets simultaneously. The tool was developed based on Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern. The MVC pattern is a widely used software design pattern that enforces the separation between the input, processing, and output of an application. Developers take full advantage of it to reduce the complexity in architectural design and to increase flexibility and reuse of code. In addition, we use White-Box testing for the code verification in the Model module.

Keywords: MVC, relational database, SQL, White-Box testing

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Authors: Yan Ma

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Parents in China now are of great enthusiasm to outsource extracurricular lessons and activities to ensure their children’s English learning. This study draws on one year of ethnographic observations and interviews with parents and children in 6 families in Shaoxing, a small city in East China, to explore how parents in different social classes differ in their ideology and investment practice towards their children’s English education. Through comparative analysis, the study reveals though all the families acknowledge the importance of English and there are great similarities among families in the same social class, differences are distinct among those in different social classes with regard to how they perceived the importance and what measures they take. The results also reflect China’s sociocultural and socioeconomic factors that underlined the heated wave of English learning as well as the social, cultural and economic conditions of different families that exert a decisive influence on their children’s learning experience.

Keywords: family background, extracurricular English learning, language ideologies, language management

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Authors: Kinda Alsamara

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Foreign language education is a complex endeavor that often presents educators with a range of challenges and difficulties. This study shed light on the specific challenges encountered in the context of teaching Arabic as a foreign language at the Australian National University (ANU). Drawing from real-world experiences and insights, we explore the multifaceted nature of these challenges and discuss strategies that educators have employed to address them. The challenges in teaching the Arabic language encompass various dimensions, including linguistic intricacies, cultural nuances, and diverse learner backgrounds. The complex Arabic script, grammatical structures, and pronunciation patterns pose unique obstacles for learners. Moreover, the cultural context embedded within the language demands a nuanced understanding of cultural norms and practices. The diverse backgrounds of learners further contribute to the challenge of tailoring instruction to meet individual needs and proficiency levels. This study also underscores the importance of technology in tackling these challenges. Technological tools and platforms offer innovative solutions to enhance language acquisition and engagement. Online resources, interactive applications, and multimedia content can provide learners with immersive experiences, aiding in overcoming barriers posed by traditional teaching methods. Furthermore, this study addresses the role of instructors in mitigating challenges. Educators often find themselves adapting teaching approaches to accommodate different learning styles, abilities, and motivations. Establishing a supportive learning environment and fostering a sense of community can contribute significantly to overcoming challenges related to learner diversity. In conclusion, this study provides a comprehensive overview of the challenges faced in teaching Arabic as a foreign language at ANU. By recognizing these challenges and embracing technological and pedagogical advancements, educators can create more effective and engaging learning experiences for students pursuing Arabic language proficiency.

Keywords: Arabic, Arabic online, blended learning, teaching and learning, Arabic language, educational aids, technology

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Authors: Magda Silva

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This paper presents the empirical and the theoretical principles associated with the Duke in Brazil Summer Program. Using a sociocultural model and critical theory, this study abroad maximizes students’ ability to enrich language competence, intercultural skills, and critical thinking. The fourteen-year implementation of this project demonstrates the global importance of foreign language teaching as the program unfolds into real life scenarios within the cultures of distinct regions of Brazil; Cosmopolitan Rio, in the southeast, and rural Belém, northern Amazon region.

Keywords: study abroad, critical thinking, sociocultural theory, foreign language, empirical, theoretical

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Authors: Alireza Hashemi

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In recent decades, language teaching methodology has undergone significant changes due to the advent of computers and the growth of educational software. French language education has also benefited from these developments, and various software has been produced to facilitate the learning of this language. However, the question arises whether these software programs meet the educational needs of Iranian learners, particularly in Semnan Province. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of French language educational software for learners in Semnan Province, considering educational, cultural, and technical criteria. In this study, content analysis and performance evaluation methods were used to examine the educational software ‘Français Facile’. This software was evaluated based on criteria such as teaching methods, cultural compatibility, and technical features. To collect data, standardized questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with learners in Semnan Province were used. Additionally, the SPSS statistical software was employed for quantitative data analysis, and the thematic analysis method was used for qualitative data. The results indicated that the ‘Français Facile’ software has strengths such as providing diverse educational content and an interactive learning environment. However, some weaknesses include the lack of alignment of educational content with the learning culture of learners in Semnan Province and technical issues in software execution. Statistical data showed that 65% of learners were satisfied with the educational content, but 55% reported issues related to cultural alignment with their needs. This study indicates that to enhance the efficiency of French language educational software, there is a need to localize educational content and improve technical infrastructure. Producing locally adapted educational software can improve the quality of language learning and increase the motivation of learners in Semnan Province. This research emphasizes the importance of understanding the cultural and educational needs of learners in the development of educational software and recommends that developers of educational software pay special attention to these aspects.

Keywords: educational software, French language, Iran, learners in Semnan province

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Authors: Qi Wang

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Chinese has become a powerful worldwide language and millions of learners are studying it all over the words. Chinese is a tone language with unique meaningful characters, which makes foreign learners master it with more difficulties. On the other hand, as each foreign language, the learners of Chinese first will learn the basic Chinese Sound Structure (the initials and finals, tones, Neutral Tone and Tone Sandhi). It’s quite common that in the following studies, teachers made a lot of efforts on drilling and error correcting, in order to help students to pronounce correctly, but ignored the training of suprasegmental features (e.g. stress, intonation). This paper analysed the oral data based on our graduation students (two-year program) from 2006-2013, presents the intonation pattern of our graduates to speak Chinese as second language -high and plain with heavy accents, without lexical stress, appropriate stop endings and intonation, which led to the misunderstanding in different real contexts of communications and the international official Chinese test, e.g. HSK (Chinese Proficiency Test), HSKK (HSK Speaking Test). This paper also demonstrated how the Chinese to use the suprasegmental features strategically in different functions and moods (declarative, interrogative, imperative, exclamatory and rhetorical intonations) in order to train the learners to achieve better Communicative Performance.

Keywords: second language learning, suprasegmental, communication, HSK (Chinese Proficiency Test)

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Authors: Ploysai Ohama, Nuttawadee Hanchengchai, Thiva Saksri

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Natural dye extracted from Pterocarpus indicus was applied to a cotton fabric and silk yarn by dyeing processing different eco-friendly mordants. Analytical studies such as UV–VIS spectrophotometry and gravimetric analysis were performed on the extracts. The color of each dyed material was investigated in terms of the CIELAB (L*, a* and b*) and K/S values. Cotton fabric dyed without mordants had a shade of greenish-brown, while those post-mordanted with selected eco-friendly mordants such as alum, lemon juice and limewater result in a variety of brown and darker color shade of fabric.

Keywords: natural dyes, plant materials, dyeing, mordant

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Authors: Rohit Semwal, Shivam Arora, Saurav, Sangita Roy

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This work proposes a supervised framework with deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs) for vision-based sign language recognition of static gestures. Our approach addresses the acquisition and segmentation of correct inputs for the CNN-based classifier. Microsoft Kinect™ sensor, despite complex environmental conditions, can track hands efficiently. Skin Colour based segmentation is applied on cropped images of hands in different poses, used to depict different sign language gestures. The segmented hand images are used as an input for our classifier. The CNN classifier proposed in the paper is able to classify the input images with a high degree of accuracy. The system was trained and tested on 39 static sign language gestures, including 26 letters of the alphabet and 13 commonly used words. This paper includes a problem definition for building the proposed system, which acts as a sign language translator between deaf/mute and the rest of the society. It is then followed by a focus on reviewing existing knowledge in the area and work done by other researchers. It also describes the working principles behind different components of CNNs in brief. The architecture and system design specifications of the proposed system are discussed in the subsequent sections of the paper to give the reader a clear picture of the system in terms of the capability required. The design then gives the top-level details of how the proposed system meets the requirements.

Keywords: sign language, CNN, HCI, segmentation

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Authors: Jiaqi XU, Qingru Sun

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Accent plays a crucial role in second language (L2) learners’ performance in the schooling context in the era of globalization, where English is adopted as a lingua franca (ELF). Previous studies found that Chinese mainland students prefer American English accents, whereas the young generations in Hong Kong prefer British accents. However, these studies neglect the non-native accents of English and fail to elaborate much about why the L2 learners differ in accent preferences between the two regions. Therefore, this research aims to bridge the research gap by 1) including both native and non-native varieties of English accents: American accent, British accent, Chinese Mandarin English accent, and Hong Kong English accent; and 2) uncovering and comparing the deeper reasons for the similar or/and different accent preferences between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong speakers. This research designed a questionnaire including objective and subjective questions to investigate the students’ accent inclinations and the attitudes and reasons behind their linguistic choices. The questionnaire was distributed to eight participants (4 Chinese mainland students and 4 Hong Kong students) who were postgraduate students at a Hong Kong university. Based on the data collection, this research finds out one similarity and two differences between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong students’ attitudes. The theories of identity construction and standard language ideology are further applied to analyze the reasons behind the similarities and differences and to evaluate how language attitudes intertwine with their identity construction and language ideology.

Keywords: accent, language attitudes, identity construction, language ideology, ELF communication

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Authors: Jana Beresova

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The paper presents a study carried out in 2015-2016 within the national scheme of research - VEGA 1/0106/15 based on theoretical research and empirical verification of the concept of intercultural communicative competence. It focuses on the current conception concerning target languages teaching compatible with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment. Our research had revealed how the concept of intercultural communicative competence had been perceived by secondary-school teachers of English in Slovakia before they were intensively trained. Intensive workshops were based on the use of both authentic and instructional materials with the goal to support interculturally oriented language teaching aimed at challenging thinking. The former concept that supported the development of the students´ linguistic knowledge and the use of a target language to obtain information about the culture of the country whose language learners were learning was expanded by the meaning-making framework which views language as a typical means by which culture is mediated. The goal of the workshop was to influence English teachers to better understand the concept of intercultural communicative competence, combining theory and practice optimally. The results of the study will be presented and analysed, providing particular recommendations for language teachers and suggesting some changes in the National Educational Programme from which English learners should benefit in their future studies or professional careers.

Keywords: authentic materials, English language teaching, instructional materials, intercultural communicative competence

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Authors: Ogbonna Anyanwu

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Language attrition describes the non-pathological decrease in language that had previously been acquired by an individual. It can affect some aspects of a language use or all aspects of a language use. The Igbo language, (despite its status as one of the major Nigerian languages) based on recent studies is fast losing its population of first generation speakers and therefore, increasingly becoming endangered and may be heading to extinction as warned by UNESCO if there are no conscious efforts to reverse the situation. The present paper, which contributes to the Igbo endangerment studies, examines the attrition of an aspect of the Igbo language use and practice: the indigenous Igbo wives’ pet names. It surveys the level of attrition of indigenous Igbo wives’ pet names; names which Igbo married men christen their wives upon marriage. The wives’ pet names under investigation here are specifically those which a husband traditionally christens his wife to reflect the intimate marital bond between them and also to extol his wife as an integral part of him. These pet names morphologically, are always suffixed with the compound morpheme diya which is translated as 'her husband' as in enyidiya 'her husband’s friend', obidiya 'her husband’s heart', ahudiya 'her husband’s body', ugwudiya 'her husband’s honour’, etc. The data for the study were collected through questionnaire, and oral interview from 300 male and 100 female respondents of different age groups who are married, indigenous Igbo speakers and are resident in the study areas (two Local Government Areas from two different Senatorial Zones in Abia and Imo States, south-eastern, Nigeria). Findings from the study show almost a total attrition of the Igbo indigenous wives’ pet names under study across the different age groups. For the respondents within the age group of 25-54 years, there is no more christening and bearing of the indigenous Igbo wives’ pet names by men and women respectively. This age group gives and bears pet names which the group members feel are contemporary and in line with modernity. This is a piece of evidence that the Igbo indigenous pet names’ use and practice are no longer part of the lifestyle of this group of respondents and therefore, they cannot transmit such names to their own children. For the respondents within the age group of 55-74 years, the indigenous Igbo wives’ pet names are also fading fast with less than 20% retention within the age group of 65-74 years with very few traces within the group of 55-64 years. These findings are further evidence that this aspect of Igbo language use and culture is severely threatened and may be on the verge of being lost. The loss of this aspect of the Igbo language or any aspect of the language has huge implications for the gradual and steady endangerment of the language as predicted by UNESCO.

Keywords: attrition, endangerment, practice, Igbo

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Authors: Ding He, Ping Hu

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This article presents a “networking approach” as an alternative to the “layering model” in the issue of the historic urban landscape [HUL], based on research conducted in the historic city of Jingdezhen, the center of the porcelain industry in China. This study points out that the existing HUL concept, which can be traced back to the fundamental conceptual divisions set forth by western science, tends to analyze the various elements of urban heritage (composed of hybrid natural-cultural elements) by layers and ignore the nuanced connections and interweaving structure of various elements. Instead, the networking analysis approach can respond to the challenges of complex heritage networks and to the difficulties that are often faced when modern schemes of looking and thinking of landscape in the Eurocentric heritage model encounters local knowledge of Chinese settlement. The fieldwork in this paper examines the local language regarding place names and everyday uses of urban spaces, thereby highlighting heritage systems grounded in local life and indigenous knowledge. In the context of Chinese “Fengshui”, this paper demonstrates the local knowledge of nature and local intelligence of settlement location and design. This paper suggests that industrial elements (kilns, molding rooms, piers, etc.) and spiritual elements (temples for ceramic saints or water gods) are located in their intimate natural networks. Furthermore, the functional, spiritual, and natural elements are perceived as a whole and evolve as an interactive system. This paper proposes a local and cognitive approach in heritage, which was initially developed in European Landscape Convention and historic landscape characterization projects, and yet seeks a more tentative and nuanced model based on urban ethnography in a Chinese city.

Keywords: Chinese city, historic urban landscape, heritage conservation, network

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Authors: Karen V. Lee

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The background and significance of this study involves research about a music teacher discovering how language development and learning can help her overcome harmful and lasting consequences from sexual violence. Education about intervention resources from language development that helps her cope with consequences influencing her career as teacher. Basic methodology involves the qualitative method of research as theoretical framework where the author is drawn into a deep storied reflection about political issues surrounding teachers who need to overcome social, psychological, and health risk behaviors from violence. Sub-themes involve available education from learning resources to ensure teachers receive social, emotional, physical, spiritual, and intervention resources that evoke visceral, emotional responses from the audience. Major findings share how language development and learning provide helpful resources to victims of violence. It is hoped the research dramatizes an episodic yet incomplete story that highlights the circumstances surrounding the protagonist’s life. In conclusion, the research has a reflexive storied framework that embraces harmful and lasting consequences from sexual violence. The reflexive story of the sensory experience critically seeks verisimilitude by evoking lifelike and believable feelings from others. Thus, the scholarly importance of using language development and learning for intervention resources can provide transformative aspects that contribute to social change. Overall, the circumstance surrounding the story about sexual violence is not uncommon in society. Language development and learning supports the moral mission to help teachers overcome sexual violence that socially impacts their professional lives as victims.

Keywords: intervention, language development and learning, sexual violence, story

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Authors: E. Krasnova, E. Bulgakova, V. Shchemelinin

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The paper deals with acoustic-spectrographic voice identification method in terms of its performance in non-native language speech. Performance evaluation is conducted by comparing the result of the analysis of recordings containing native language speech with recordings that contain foreign language speech. Our research is based on Tajik and Russian speech of Tajik native speakers due to the character of the criminal situation with drug trafficking. We propose a pilot experiment that represents a primary attempt enter the field.

Keywords: speaker identification, acoustic-spectrographic method, non-native speech, performance evaluation

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Authors: Huynh Tan Hoi

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Considered as one of the hardest languages in the world, Japanese is still the language that many young people choose to learn. Today, with the development of technology, learning foreign languages in general and Japanese language, in particular, is not an impossible barrier. Learning materials are not only from paper books, songs but also through software programs of smartphones or computers. Especially, students who begin to explore effective skills to study this language need to access modern technologies to improve their learning much better. When using the software, some students may feel embarrassed and challenged, but everything would go smoothly after a few days. After completing the course, students will get more knowledge, achieve a higher knowledge such as N2 or N1 Japanese Language Proficiency Test Certificate. In this research paper, 35 students who are studying at Ho Chi Minh City FPT University were asked to complete the questionnaire at the beginning of July up to August of 2018. Through this research, we realize that with the guidance of lecturers, the necessity of using modern software and some effective methods are indispensable in term of improving quality of teaching and learning process.

Keywords: higher knowledge, Japanese, methods, software, students

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Authors: Zaideth Zobeida Ponce Alonso, Laura Emilia Fierro Lopez, Maria del Rocio Dominguez Gaona

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The present study is part of the Master in Modern Languages at the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, and it aims to analyze how the sociocultural background might influence the development of learner autonomy in foreign language education in order to propose some strategies to overcome such challenges. Given the lack of research on the sociocultural barriers in learner autonomy in a Mexican context and the need to hear teachers’ voices about this issue, qualitative data was obtained from semi-structured interviews with six language teachers on their perspectives on learner autonomy, its application to the language classroom, and their experiences with Mexican and foreign learners/contexts in order to find out differences regarding learner autonomy. The results suggest three main sociocultural characteristics: preference for an authority figure, tendency towards collectivism, and low tolerance of ambiguity. Finally, nine strategies were proposed in order to help language teachers to deal with such sociocultural characteristics when fostering learner autonomy in the border city of Mexicali, where this study was carried out.

Keywords: learner autonomy, Mexican context, sociocultural influence, teachers' perspectives, teaching strategies

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Authors: M. Bazrafshan, M. B. de Rooij, D. J. Schipper

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Frictional hysteresis is the phenomenon in which mechanical contacts are subject to small (compared to contact area) oscillating tangential displacements. In the presence of adhesion at the interface, the contact repulsive force increases leading to a higher static friction force and pre-sliding displacement. This paper proposes a boundary element model (BEM) for the adhesive frictional hysteresis contact at the interface of two contacting bodies of arbitrary geometries. In this model, adhesion is represented by means of a Dugdale approximation of the total work of adhesion at local areas with a very small gap between the two bodies. The frictional contact is divided into sticking and slipping regions in order to take into account the transition from stick to slip (pre-sliding regime). In the pre-sliding regime, the stick and slip regions are defined based on the local values of shear stress and normal pressure. In the studied cases, a fixed normal force is applied to the interface and the friction force varies in such a way to start gross sliding in one direction reciprocally. For the first case, the problem is solved at the smooth interface between a ball and a flat for different values of work of adhesion. It is shown that as the work of adhesion increases, both static friction and pre-sliding distance increase due to the increase in the contact repulsive force. For the second case, the rough interface between a glass ball against a silicon wafer and a DLC (Diamond-Like Carbon) coating is considered. The work of adhesion is assumed to be identical for both interfaces. As adhesion depends on the interface roughness, the corresponding contact repulsive force is different for these interfaces. For the smoother interface, a larger contact repulsive force and consequently, a larger static friction force and pre-sliding distance are observed.

Keywords: boundary element model, frictional hysteresis, adhesion, roughness, pre-sliding

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Authors: Irfana M., Priyandi Kabasi

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Children with specific language impairment (SLI) have difficulty acquiring and using language despite having all the requirements of cognitive skills to support language acquisition. These children have normal non-verbal intelligence, hearing, and oral-motor skills, with no history of social/emotional problems or significant neurological impairment. Nevertheless, their language acquisition lags behind their peers. Phonological complexity can be considered to be the major factor that causes the inaccurate production of speech in this population. However, the implementation of various ranges of complex phonological stimuli in the treatment session of SLI should be followed for a better prognosis of speech accuracy. Hence there is a need to study the levels of phonological complexity. The present study consisted of 7 individuals who were diagnosed with SLI and 10 developmentally normal children. All of them were Hindi speakers with both genders and their age ranged from 4 to 5 years. There were 4 sets of stimuli; among them were minimal contrast vs maximal contrast nonwords, minimal coarticulation vs maximal coarticulation nonwords, minimal contrast vs maximal contrast words and minimal coarticulation vs maximal coarticulation words. Each set contained 10 stimuli and participants were asked to repeat each stimulus. Results showed that production of maximal contrast was significantly accurate, followed by minimal coarticulation, minimal contrast and maximal coarticulation. A similar trend was shown for both word and non-word categories of stimuli. The phonological complexity effect was evident in the study for each participant group. Moreover, present study findings can be implemented for the management of SLI, specifically for the selection of stimuli.

Keywords: coarticulation, minimal contrast, phonological complexity, specific language impairment

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Authors: Neha Narayanan

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The paper tries to explore the role of language in determining spaces occupied by women in everyday lives. It is inspired from an ongoing action research work which employs ‘immersion’- arriving at a research problematic through community research, as a methodology in a Kondh adivasi village, Kirkalpadu located in Rayagada district of the Indian state of Odisha. In the dominant development discourse, language is associated with either preservation or conservation of endangered language or empowerment through language. Beyond these, is the discourse of language as a structure, with the hegemonic quality to organise lifeworld in a specific manner. This rigid structure leads to an experience of constriction of space for women. In Kirkalpadu, the action research work is with young and unmarried women of the age 15-25. During daytime, these women are either in the agricultural field or in the bari -the backyard of the house whose rooms are linearly arranged one after the other ending with the kitchen followed by an open space called bari (in Odia) which is an intimate and gendered space- where they are not easily visible. They justify the experience of restriction in mobility and fear of moving out of the village alone by the argument that the place and the men are nihi-aaeh (not good). These women, who have dropped out of school early to contribute to the (surplus) labour requirement in the household, want to learn English to be able to read signboards when they are on the road, to be able to fill forms at a bank and use mobile phones to communicate with their romantic partner(s). But the incapacity to have within one’s grasp the province of language and the incapacity to take the mobile phone to the kind of requirements marked by the above mentioned impossible transactions with space restricts them to the bari of the house. The paper concludes by seeking to explore the possibilities of learning and rethinking languages which takes into cognizance the gendered experience of women and the desire of women to cross the borders and occupy spaces restricted to them.

Keywords: action research, gendered experience, language, space

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Authors: Uma Shanker, Vidhisha Jassal

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A novel green route was used to synthesize few metal hexacyanoferrates (FeHCF, NiHCF, CoHCF and CuHCF) nanoparticles using Sapindus mukorossias a natural surfactant and water as a solvent. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Thermo gravimetric techniques. Trasmission electron microscopic images showed that synthesized MHCF nanoparticles exhibited cubic and spherical shapes with exceptionally small sizes ranging from 3nm - 186 nm.

Keywords: metal hexacyanoferrates, natural surfactant, Sapindus mukorossias, nanoparticles

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Authors: Yahya Toyin Muritala, Nonglaksana Kama, Ahmad Yani

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The aim of the paper is to investigate various linguistic techniques in enhancing and facilitating the acquisition of the practical knowledge of Arabic grammatical structuring among non-Arab learners of the standard classical Arabic language in non-Arabic speaking academic settings in the course of the current growth of the internationalism and cultural integration in some higher institutions. As the nature of the project requires standard investigations into the unique principal features of Arabic structurings and implications, the findings of the research work suggest some principles to follow in solving the problems faced by learners while acquiring grammatical aspects of Arabic language. The work also concentrates on the the structural features of the language in terms of inflection/parsing, structural arrangement order, functional particles, morphological formation and conformity etc. Therefore, grammatical aspect of Arabic which has gone through major stages in its early evolution of the classical stages up to the era of stagnation, development and modern stage of revitalization is a main subject matter of the paper as it is globally connected with communication and religion of Islam practiced by millions of Arabs and non-Arabs nowadays. The conclusion of the work shows new findings, through the descriptive and analytical methods, in terms of teaching language for the purpose of effective global communication with focus on methods of second language acquisitions by application.

Keywords: language structure, Arabic grammar, classical Arabic, intercultural communication, non-Arabic speaking environment and prospects

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Authors: H. L. M. Fawzan

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Undoubtedly, learning English as a second language (ESL) is considered a challenging task. It is more difficult for students in far-away districts when compared with the students in the capital cities, where learning resources are easily available and where the environment is conducive to learning. Thus, this study is an analysis of the challenges faced by learners in learning English as the second language within kurunegala district in Sri Lanka. Even though various efforts have been taken by the Sri Lankan Educationalists for improving the situation of English language teaching for the past few decades, a disappointing situation still exist in the achievements of English learning among Sri Lankan students. So, it is necessary to explore real reasons behind the poor achievements of the students in the English Language. It is also an attempt to highlight what can be done to improve the situation significantly. Kurunegala is far away from the capital city of Sri Lanka and is a densely populated district. In the year 2020, state university admission was 45.87% from the Kurunegala district (Department of Examinations). The researcher strived to examine some of the likely challenges faced when teaching English in secondary schools in Kurunegala. The data was collected using a questionnaire from 35 students from schools within the Kurunegala education division. The result of the study reveals that students were highly motivated to learn English for their prospects and expectations such as local and international communication, academic advancement, and employment prospects.

Keywords: english, teaching, Kurunegala, Sri Lanka, challenges

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Authors: S. Sulochana Singha

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Dhiyan or Dehan is the name of the community and language spoken by the Koch-Rajbangshi people of Barak Valley of Assam. Ethnically, they are Mongoloids, and their language belongs to the Indo-Aryan language family. However, Dhiyan is absent in any classification of Indo-Aryan languages. So the classification of Dhiyan language under the Indo-Aryan language family is completely based on the shared typological features of the other Indo-Aryan languages. Typologically, Dhiyan is an agglutinating language, and it shares many features of Indo-Aryan languages like presence of aspirated voiced stops, non-tonal, verb-person agreement, adjectives as different word class, prominent tense and subject object verb word order. Reduplication is a productive word-formation process in Dhiyan. Besides it also expresses plurality, intensification, and distributive. Generally, reduplication in Dhiyan can be at the morphological or lexical level. Morphological reduplication in Dhiyan involves expressives which includes onomatopoeias, sound symbolism, idiophones, and imitatives. Lexical reduplication in the language can be formed by echo formations and word reduplication. Echo formation in Dhiyan is formed by partial repetition from the base word which can be either consonant alternation or vowel alternation. The consonant alternation is basically found in onset position while the alternation of vowel is basically found in open syllable particularly in final syllable. Word reduplication involves reduplication of nouns, interrogatives, adjectives, and numerals which further can be class changing or class maintaining reduplication. The process of reduplication can be partial or complete whether it is lexical or morphological. The present paper is an attempt to describe some aspects of the formation, function, and usage of reduplications in Dhiyan which is mainly spoken in ten villages in the Eastern part of Barak River in the Cachar District of Assam.

Keywords: Barak-Valley, Dhiyan, Indo-Aryan, reduplication

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Authors: Eman Alzahrani, Hala M. Abo-Dief, Ashraf T. Mohamed

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The present work is aimed at examining carbon steel oil pipelines corrosion using three natural extracts (Eruca Sativa, Rosell and Mango peels) that are used as inhibitors of different concentrations ranging from 0.05-0.1wt. %. Two sulphur compounds are used as corrosion mediums. Weight loss method was used for measuring the corrosion rate of the carbon steel specimens immersed in technical white oil at 100ºC at various time intervals in absence and presence of the two sulphur compounds. The corroded specimens are examined using the chemical wear test, scratch test and hardness test. The scratch test is carried out using scratch loads from 0.5 Kg to 2.0 Kg. The scratch width is obtained at various scratch load and test conditions. The Brinell hardness test is carried out and investigated for both corroded and inhibited specimens. The results showed that three natural extracts can be used as environmentally friendly corrosion inhibitors.

Keywords: inhibition, natural extract, oil pipelines corrosion, sulphur compounds

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Authors: Baltazar Ndakidemi

Abstract:

The resource-constrained farmers, especially those in sub-Saharan Africa, encounter significant challenges related to agriculture, notably diseases and pests. The sustainable means of pest management are not well known to farmers. As a result, some farmers use synthetic pesticides whose environmental impacts, ill health, and other negative impacts of synthetic pesticides on natural enemies have posed a great need for more sustainable means of pest management. Pesticidal plant resources can replace synthetic pesticides because their secondary metabolites can exhibit insecticidal activities such as deterrence, repellence, and pests' mortality. Additionally, the volatiles from these plants can have positive effects of attracting populations of natural enemies. Pesticidal plants can be grown as field margin plants or in strips for supporting natural enemies' populations. However, this is practically undetermined. Hence, there is a need to investigate the roles played by pesticidal plants in supporting natural enemies of pests and their applications in different cropping systems such as legumes. This study investigates different pesticidal plants with a high potential for pest control in agricultural fields. The information sheds light on potential plants that can be used for different crop pests.

Keywords: natural enemies, biological control, synthetic pesticides, pesticidal plants, predators, parasitoids

Procedia PDF Downloads 71

Authors: Maha Wiss, Wael Khreich

Abstract:

Animals, objects, foods, plants, and other non-human terms are commonly used as a source of metaphors to describe females in formal and slang language. Comparing women to non-human items not only reflects cultural views that might conceptualize women as subordinates or in a lower position than humans, yet it conveys this degradation to the listeners. Moreover, the dehumanizing representation of females in the language normalizes the derogation and even encourages sexism and aggressiveness against women. Although dehumanization has been a popular research topic for decades, according to our knowledge, no studies have linked women's dehumanizing language to the machine learning field. Therefore, we introduce our research work as one of the first attempts to create a tool for the automated detection of the dehumanizing depiction of females in English texts. We also present the first labeled dataset on the charted topic, which is used for training supervised machine learning algorithms to build an accurate classification model. The importance of this work is that it accomplishes the first step toward mitigating dehumanizing language against females.

Keywords: gender bias, machine learning, NLP, women dehumanization

Procedia PDF Downloads 83

Authors: Jiri Brozovsky

Abstract:

Modulus of elasticity is one of the important parameters of construction materials, which considerably influence their deformation properties and which can also be determined by means of non-destructive test methods like ultrasonic pulse method. However, measurement results of ultrasonic pulse methods are influenced by various factors, one of which is the natural frequency of the transducers. The paper states knowledge about influence of natural frequency of the transducers (54; 82 and 150kHz) on ultrasonic pulse velocity and dynamic modulus of elasticity (Young's Dynamic modulus of elasticity). Differences between ultrasonic pulse velocity and dynamic modulus of elasticity were found with the same smallest dimension of test specimen in the direction of sounding and density their value decreases as the natural frequency of transducers grew.

Keywords: calcium silicate brick, ultrasonic pulse method, ultrasonic pulse velocity, dynamic modulus of elasticity

Procedia PDF Downloads 421

Authors: Mike R. Bambach

Abstract:

Increasing awareness of environmental concerns is leading a drive towards more sustainable structural products for the built environment. Natural fibres such as flax, jute and hemp have recently been considered for fibre-resin composites, with a major motivation for their implementation being their notable sustainability attributes. While recent decades have seen substantial interest in the use of such natural fibres in composite materials, much of this research has focused on the materials aspects, including fibre processing techniques, composite fabrication methodologies, matrix materials and their effects on the mechanical properties. The present study experimentally investigates the compression strength of structural channel sections of flax, jute and hemp, with a particular focus on their suitability for residential stud wall applications. The section geometry is optimised for maximum strength via the introduction of complex stiffeners in the webs and flanges. Experimental results on both natural fibre composite channel sections and typical steel and timber residential wall studs are compared. The geometrically optimised natural fibre composite channels are shown to have compression capacities suitable for residential wall stud applications, identifying them as a potentially viable alternative to traditional building materials in such application, and potentially other light structural applications.

Keywords: channel sections, natural fibre composites, residential stud walls, structural composites

Procedia PDF Downloads 317